Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Appreciating what I have

I visited yesterday with a man who had worshiped at Christ Episcopal Church on Sunday. He told me he and his wife were seeking a new church home.

I did a lot of listening and found myself moved by his sharing of his spiritual journey. He knew God as a loving, saving God. He was articulate in telling me his story. And authentic.

He had grown up in one particular denomination. It had been his family's tradition for generations. He had given a lot to his church over the years in service. He said he felt guilty thinking about leaving.

I asked him, "Might God be calling you to remain a spiritual leader right where you are?"

No, he said. He thought God was calling him elsewhere. And so he and his wife were visiting other churches on Sundays.

"I thought," he said, 'why not visit the Episcopal Church?'"

He said he was not angry with his former church or pastor or denomination. Rather, he no longer felt a sense of worship at his church and missed it. He needed to experience God's living presence once more, that sense of the holy.

At Christ Church on Sunday, the first thing he experienced was silence in the church before worship began. He saw people kneeling and praying in that silence.

And then he met God in the Holy Scriptures and sermon, in the music, and in the Holy Communion. Everything about the service, including kneeling for prayer and to receive Communion, helped him enter into the "moment" with God.

He left worship feeling filled spiritually. He was better prepared to meet the week ahead in faith, hope, love, and joy.

I sometimes take for granted what I experience here in the Holy Eucharist on Sundays and Thursdays, that sense of mystery, wonder, awe--the holy God.

And it takes a visitor to remind me how blessed I am by word and sacrament and this blessed community of faith.

1 comment:

We ARE awfully blessed, aren't we? Recently a friend was questioning my statement that the Sunday service centers me for the upcoming week. She has only known church to be boring and dry and couldn't conceive of a service being holy and meditative. To her, spiritual connection has never come from a church. As I explained our worship process and our service, she was able to see what I see. And I think she was surprised. I love that each week I'm surrounded by faithful people and traditions that manifest the holy. Thank you for helping with that.

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About Me

I was born in Louisville, KY. I am a proud Kentuckian and Louisvillian, I am also, by adoption, a proud Missourian, I am married to Penny. We met as undergraduates at the University of Louisville. She works in IT but regards herself, vocationally, as a painter. We have a daughter, Ckare, and two granddaughters, June Elizabeth and Christa Marie. I earned my bachelor's degree in history with honors at U of L. I worked in banking for several years, then for several years more in journalism and public relations as a writer, editor , and account manager. My background in finance, administration, and communication has been a blessing in my service to God. I earned my master's in divinity at The General Theological Seminary in NewYork City, I most recently earned another master's degree, this one from Missouri State University in English, with a creative writing emphasis. Since high school, I have been an avid writer, my work appearing in local, regional and national publications, including Sojourners, The Other Side, The Christian Century. While in seminary, I did freelance writing for the Episcopal Church and wrote three chapters of The Christian Sourcebook, published by Ballantine. I still write--fiction and poetry, essays for my online journal, and occasional newspaper columns. I have been rector of Christ Episcopal Church, Springfield, MO since 1995. I love the church and, most of all, the people,who love and serve Jesus. I love preaching, teaching,,writing and taking an active part in civic and community leadership.